Audi’s digital rear-view mirror goes to production

By Gene Ryan Briones on 08/09/2012 17:38 PST

Audi first unveiled its AMOLED video rear view system in May this year. Today, the German automaker has announced that its digital rear-view mirror will be going into a small-scale production on the Audi R8 e-tron at the end of this year. Fresh from the Le Mans 24 Hours, Audi touted its digital rear-view mirror for having successfully aided its R18 e-tron quattro and R18 ultra race cars. The manufacturer said that the new displays are more energy-efficient, thinner, and lighter than conventional LCD monitors.

Basically, the digital rear-view mirror has a lightweight camera that is housed in an aerodynamically optimized casing. Its lens has a diameter of just a few millimeters and it can pretty much cover a larger field of vision than other conventional rear-view mirrors. Inside will be a 7.7-inch AMOLED display that has been developed by Samsung. Audi said that the organic materials used in the display are self-illuminating and that they do not require backlighting. “During the hours of darkness the intelligent control system prevents dazzle from the headlights of other vehicles. The driver can dim or deactivate the display at any time,” the company added.